Remotely-controlled dictationrecording system



July 22,1958 v MJJ. KUTIK 3 3 REMOTELY-CONTROLLED'MUTATION-RECORDING SYSTEM Filed May 9, 1956 l I l NVENTOR J Mar-tit J. Kucifi United States REMO'IELY-CONTROLLED DICTATION- RECDRDING SYSTEM Application May 9, 1956, Serial No. 583,717

6 Claims. (Cl. 179 100.1)

This invention relates particularly to dictation-recording systems of the type wherein the dictating machine is controlled and operated from one or more remote stations, and especially the invention pertains toan improved means for signaling the dictator when therecording operation at the machine nearsthe end. of the record.

An object of the invention is toprovide a signaling means which is simple, economical and efiective in producing a distinct warning signal without destroying the intelligibility of the signals being recorded.

Such and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the appended claims.

In the description of the invention reference is had to the accompanying drawings, of which:

Figure 1 is a schematic circuit diagram of a remotelycontrolled dictation-recording systemincorporating the invention;

Figure 2 is a fractional plan view of a portion of the dictating machine illustrating certain mechanical features of the invention; and

Figure 3 is a sectional view of a portion of the machine taken on the line 33 of Figure 2.

By Way of example, the dictation-recording system may be of the type disclosed in the pending Somers et al. application Serial No. 247,244, filed September 19, 1951, and to which reference may be had as to details. Such a system comprises an attendants station including a dictating machine 11 (fractionally shown) and one or more dictators stations each connectable to the ma chine, of which one station is shown and indicated at 12. The dictating machine itself may be of the type disclosed in the Somers application Serial No. 347,875, filed April 10, 1953, on Dictating Machine and to which reference may be had as to details. This machine comprises a rotatable record support in the form, for example, of a turntable 13 having a stub shaft 14 journaled at 14a in a frame 15 of the machine. The turntable is driven by a motor 16 through a clutch 17, driving Wheel 18 and belt 19 riding on the periphery of the turntable. A carriage 20 is mounted slidably for movement across one side of the turntable by a mounting structure fractionally shown in Figure 2, comprising a bracket 21 secured at 22 to the carriage and having a U-shaped end portion 23 slidably embracing a support rod 24 carried by standards 25 of the base structure 15 of the machine. Paralleling the support rod is a feed screw 27 journaled at its ends in suitable standards 28 and driven from the stub shaft 14 through worm gearing 29. A circular feed nut 30, which is journaled at 26 to the carriage and frictionally held normally against turning, engages the feed screw to cause the carriage to have a progressive traveling movement across the left side of the turntable as the turntable is rotated.

The carriage carries two translating heads which may comprise a recorder 31 and a reproducer 32. A recording circuit 33 leads to the recorder through an amplifier 34, and a reproducing circuit 35 leads from the repro-.

" atent" 2,844,664- Patented July 22, 1958 (u! ducer through an amplifier 36, two separate amplifiers being here shown only to preserve simplicity of description since one amplifier may of course serve both recording and reproducing functions through the use of suitable switching.

At the attendants station there is also a communication-control circuit 37 for the dictating machine which serially includes an audio transformer 38 the secondary of which is connectable either to the recording circuit 33 or reproducing circuit 35. through a two-pole recordreproduce switch 39. The communication circuit is energized from a low-voltage direct-current source as from the terminals 40 marked and respectively. Serially included in this communication-control circuit between the audio transformer and the current source are two control relays 41' and 42. These relays are operated selectively at different current levels established at the dictators station, as will appear. The relay 41 has switch contacts 43 operated at the lower current level to close a powercircuit 44 which serially includes the motor 16 and which is connected to an A. C. power source (not shown) at.the terminals 45'. The second relay 42 is operated at the higher current level to engage the clutch 17 through a coupling represented diagrammatically by .the tie line 46. An energization of the communication control circuit at the lower current level sufficientto operate therelay 41 to start the motor 16; is herein considered as an activation of the dictation-recording system.

Connected in the power circuit 44 in parallel with iilQIlflOtOI' 16 is the primary winding of a step-down transformer 47, the secondary winding of which is connected to two outgoing leads constituting a signal circuit 48. Thus, the signal circuit is activated whenever the dictating systemis in activated condition as above defined.

The .dictators station includes a handpiece 49 preferably of the usual telephone variety comprising, as transducer elements, a carbon buttonmicrophone 50 and a receiver 51: These elements are connectable in a branch 37a of the communication-control circuit through an on.-oif station switch 52 biased to closed position as by a spring 53 but normally held in open position by the Weight of the handpiece resting on an extension 5241 of one. pole member of the station switch. Connection of the receiver across the contacts of the station switch is made through a resistor 54 and blocking condenser 55, and connection of the microphone is made across these contacts through a manual start-stop record switch 56. A resistor 57 is however connected directly across the contacts of the station switch to effect immediate closure of the communication-control circuit for direct current when the station switch 'is closed. This resistor has such value as to establish the aforementioned lower current level effective to cause operation of the relay 41. When the start-stop switch 56 is also closed the load resistance in the communication-control circuit is reduced by the parallel connection of the carbon button microphone '50 across the resistor 57 to step up the current flow to the higher current level effective to cause operation of the relay 42.

At each dictators station there is also a signal lam'p 58 which is connected serially in the signal circuit 48 through a respective branch 48a of that circuit. Also at each dictators station there is a manual reproduce switch 59 operable to interconnect the negative side of the respective branch communication-control circuit 37a to one side of the branch signal circuit 48a. Upon closing this switch while the station switch closed, a circuit is completed from the D. C. power source 40 to operate arelay 60 at the attendants station. This relay includes the record-reproduce switch 39 aforementioned. When the relay isoperated this record-reproduce switch is shifted to its reproduce position, the efiect of which is to break i the base 15. projecting from the hub of the clapper comes into enthe connection normally made with the recording circuit 33 and to make connection instead to the reproducing circuit 35. This relay 60 also has a mechanical coupling with the clutch 17 represented diagrammatically by a tie line 60a, which is for the purpose of engaging the clutch 17 when the relay is operated. Thus, upon closing the manual reproduce switch 59 not only is the audio system of the dictating machine shifted from recording to reproducing condition but also the machine is started.

When a dictator, as at the station 12, removes his J handpiece from its support in preparation for recording dictation, he closes the respective station switch 52 to establish immediate current flow in the communicationcontrol circuit at the lower current level effective to operate the relay 41 and start the motor 16. The machine is then in condition for immediate start-stop operation for recording dictation, it being assumed that the amplifiers are in stand-by condition.

Upon next closing the record switch 56 he establishes the current flow in the communication-control circuit at the higher current level effective to operate the relay 42 and engage the clutch 17. This starts the machine running to enable recordation of dictation spoken into the microphone 50. When the machine is in operation the turntable 13 is rotating and the translating heads are progressively moved across the turntable so that they describe a helical track on the record supported by the tumtable. If at any time during the process of recording dictation the dictator should want to refresh in his mind the line of his thoughts, as after an interruption, he will press the reproduce switch 59. This will shift the machine into reproducing condition and also start it running.

Since the reproducer 32 is at a trailing distance behind the recorder 31, there will be reproduced in the receiver 51 the last portion of his recorded dictation.

In dictating machines of the character herein described there has been heretofore provided, as described in theaforementioned Somers application Serial No. 347,875, a mechanical signaling means for apprising the dictator when he has recorded to a point approaching the end of the record. This mechanical signaling means comprises a toothed wheel 61 secured to one end of the feed screw 27 and a clapper 62 pivoted on the support rod 24. The clapper extends from its pivot axis forwardly along the base of the machine but is withheld from the base until the caniage reaches a point near the end of the record by means of a bail 63 pivoted at its ends on the support rod 24 and having an aperture 64 in its right end portion received by an arm 65 upstanding from the hub of the clapper. On the bracket 21 of the carriage there is a pin 66 which bears against the forward edgeof the bail to hold it normally in a counterclockwise direction as it appears in Figure 3, the effect of which is to withhold the clapper 62 from the base 15. However, when the carriage reaches the aforementioned point near the end of the record the pin 66 engages a recess 67 in the forward edge of the bail, allowing the bail to rock forwardly under the influence of the weight of the clapper and allowing the clapper thereby to impinge against When the clapper is so lowered a lug 68 gagement with the notched wheel 61. The result is that the clapper is raised intermittently by the toothed wheel during the operation of the machine and allowed to strike against the base 15 acting as a sounding board at a rate of about one reciprocation per second. In order that the bail 63 will not interfere with such reciprocating movement of the clapper, the aperture 64 is made oversize as indicated in Figure 2. a

The mechanical signaling means ab'ovedescribed is a very simple and effective signaling system' for the attendant at the dictating machine but will, of course, provide no signal to the dictator when the dictators station is remote fromthe machine. By the present invention breaks in the communication-control circuit.

thismechanical signaling system is utilized with the addition of a simple switch device to provide an effective signaling at the remote dictators station. This is accomplished by providing an over-center snap switch 69 of the make-break-make type which may typically be of the type known commercially as Microswitch." This switch is connected serially in the communication-control circuit 37. The switch is biased in one direction into one of its two make positions and is operable intermittently by the clapper through a right-angle arm 70 which is spring-hinged to the base 15. The upright portion of this arm operates against a pushbutton 71 of the switch and the horizontal portion of the arm extends over the top of the clapper 62. Each reciprocation of the clapper is effective to shift the switch through its intermediate break position and back again to provide two momentary Since this circuit carries direct current from the D. C. source 40, each momentary breakwhich is only 1 to 3 milliseconds in durationprovides effectively an electrical pulse which is fed back to the dictators station and heard in his receiver as a tick sound. Because two breaks occur during each reciprocation of the clapper there is heard a double-tick sound about every second of which the two ticks of each cycle are separated by about .3 second. Such recurring double-tick sound is highly effective in apprising the dictator as to when he has recorded into the end zone of the record. However, since the momentary breaks in the direct-current flow in the circuit are of such short duration, they are insuflicient either to cause the relays 141 and 142 to drop out or the intelligibility of the signals being recorded to be impaired.

The embodiment of my invention herein particularly shown and described is' intended to be illustrative and not limitative of my invention since the same is subject to changes and modifications without departure from the scope of my invention, which I endeavor to express according to the following claims.

Iclaim:

1. In a remotely-controlled dictation-recording system including a dictating machine provided with a record support and with a translating-head carriage, one of which devices is mounted for traveling movement relative to the other, and a dictators station including a transducer means and operable controls for said machine: the combination of a drive mechanism for said machine; circuit means for connecting said transducer means and controls to said machine to enable operation of the machine from the dictators station; a reciprocable element in said machine; means operable by power from said drive mechanism when said one device reaches a prescribed end zone on the record for actuating said reciprocable element; and means controlled by said reciprocable element for producing periodic-momentary interruptions in the circuit of said transducer means to provide a warning signal to the dictator of a character ineffective to destroy the intelligibility of the signals transmitted between the dictators station and the dictating machine.

2. The combination set forth in claim 1 wherein said circuit means is energized by direct current, said transducer means includes a receiver and said interruptionproducing means comprises a switch of a make-breakmake type serially connected in the circuit of the transducer means and having an over-center snap action adapted to provide an intermittent tick sound in said receiver.

3. The combination set forth in claim 2 wherein said transducer means comprises a telephone-type receivermicrophone unit connected in a common line of said circuit means energized by direct current, and said switch is connected in said common line and biased into a make position normally to maintain continuity in said line, and wherein saidreciprocable element is adapted to imcombination of a drive mechanism including a feed' screw and cooperating feed nut for producing a progressive traveling movement of said one device; a reciprocable element in said machine; a toothed wheel on said feed screw; means for engaging said reciprocable element with said toothed wheel when said one device reaches an end Zone on the record whereby to impart periodic pulses to the reciprocable element; circuit means for connecting said receiver-microphone and controls to said machine to enable operation of the machine from the dictators station; and a signaling means comprising an electrical switch in said circuit means actuated by said reciprocable element for providing periodic electrical pulses in said circuit means for warning the dictator at said remote station of the approach of the end of the record without disturbing the control of the machine or destroying the intelligibility of the sounds being recorded.

5. The combination set forth in claim 4 wherein said machine has a member against which said reciprocable element impinges when the latter is actuated, the periodic impingement of said reciprocable element against said member being adapted to provide a mechanical warning signal at said machine coordinated with the signaling provided at the remote dictators station when said one device enters said end zone on the record.

6. In a remotely-controlled dictation-recording system including a recording apparatus comprising a translating device, transport mechanism for providing a relative scanning movement between said device and a supported record, drive means for said transport mechanism and a source of direct current: the combination of a remote dictators station including a carbon button microphone and a receiver, and an on-oft station switch; a common circuit controlled by said station switch for connecting the microphone to said translating device when the station switch is closed, said common circuit being connected to said D. C. source to provide a flow of direct current therein for energizing said microphone when said station switch is closed; a control relay in said common circuit for said drive means, operable by the directcurrent flow therein when said station switch is closed; a normally-closed switch in said common circuit; and means operable by said drive means when said translating device enters an end zone on the record for recurrently actuating saidswitch to periodically break said circuit for such momentary periods as will provide tick sounds in said receiver without impairing the inte1ligibility of the voice signals being recorded and without dropping out said relay.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,650,951 Kobler Sept. 1, 1953 

